Pat Bean's blog

Aging My Way

Most days I am content. I have a comfortable place to live, friends and loved ones who care about me, I have a great dog, and I’m rich enough to buy a book I want when I want it – and that’s rich enough for me.

But there are other days when I want more, like reasons why at nearly 87 I’m still here on this planet. It’s a nagging concern that is probably shared by others who have left behind a life of chaotic activity for one of having the luxury of unscheduled time.

I thought about these things this morning when I was reading Blythe’s Roberson’s book, America the Beautiful. A comedian, humor writer and author, Blythe says she snapped the day Mary Oliver died, suddenly realizing she needed to do the “great American road trip.” And so it was that two months later, at just 28, Blythe quit her job and was on the road in her dad’s old Prius. –

I immediately identified with Blythe, although in my case, while I knew when I was 10 years old that I had to take that great American road trip, it took me 55 years instead of just two months to accomplish the dream. In my defense, Blythe’s adventures only lasted a few months while mine lasted nine years – and I did it comfortably in a gutsy, new 21-foot RV.

But a high priority on both Blythe and my agendas for the road trip was visiting National Parks, where we thought we would see the best of America – and we did. To give structure to her trip, Blythe decided to earn junior ranger badges from each park she visited. I chose the task of seeing as many new bird species as I possible could.

The need for structure to my days continues to be a nagging concern, which I answer with birdwatching, reading books like Blythe’s that stimulate my little gray cells, and writing, such as this blog, personal journaling and an occasional paid writing assignment. I also have a few other creative activities along with social interactions with friends and loved ones who continue to enrich my life.

Such things are necessary to keep me from obsessing too much about the daily news, and other disturbing minutia like saggy boobs, wrinkled skin and thinning hair. Thankfully, the years have repaid the insults with the wisdom to take the days, and enjoy and survive them, as they come – and be grateful for them.

Pat Bean is a retired award-winning journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion Scamp. She is an avid reader whose mind is always asking questions (many of which are unanswerable), an enthusiastic birder, staff writer for Story Circle Network’s Journal, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon (Free on Kindle Unlimited), and is always searching for life’s silver lining.